A resistance garment worn by a person during aerobic activity may provide greater muscle tone and increased caloric output than would otherwise be possible within a given time period. These increased benefits of physical exertion may, for example, be expressed as improved athletic performance, expedited recovery from injury, and/or maintenance of fitness and health.
Several resistance garments have been described. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,814, titled “One piece elastic body suit”, discloses a jumpsuit having outer and inner cloth sections with elastic band members disposed between the cloth sections. A pair of elastic band members runs from the back of the ankles, over the shoulders, to the front of the ankles in a parallel fashion. Another elastic member encircles the waist.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,428, titled “Exercise device of adjustable resistance for flexing of muscles of the legs and torso”, discloses an elasticized garment having an inverted U-shape. The center of the garment is attached to a rear waist portion of the wearer. A pair of elongated, descending members falls over the hamstrings and attaches above each of the wearer's knees. The garment is especially designed for walking or running where the descending members resist the forward motion of the wearer's legs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,600, titled “Aerobic resistance exercise garment”, discloses a garment including stretchable, elastic webbing between each arm and the torso, and also interconnecting the leg portions with each other. The garment further includes a plurality of pockets to hold optional weights.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,186,701, 5,306,222 and 5,720,042 disclose garments having a compressive structure, for better muscular alignment and less muscle fatigue, combined with longitudinal resistive elements, such as elastic bands, strips or cords. The compressive structure may be a series of compressive cuffs, or a suit made in whole or part of a compressive material, such as Lycra®. Resistive bands may be attached to anchor points on the compressive cuffs, gloves or socks/shoes.